Botanical Investigations Into the Fossil Flora of Eriksdal in Fyledalen, Scania
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SVERIGES GEOLOGISKA UNDERSOKNING SER C NR 633 AVHANDLINGAR OCH UPPSATSER ARSBOK 62 NR 4 HANS TRALAU BOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE FOSSIL FLORA OF ERIKSDAL IN FYLEDALEN, SCANIA II. THE MIDDLE JURASSIC MICROFLORA STOCKHOLM 1968 SVERIGES GEOLOGISKA UNDERSOKNING SER C NR 633 ARSBOK 62 NR 4 HANS TRALAU BOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE FOSSIL FLORA OF ERIKSDAL IN FYLEDALEN, SCANIA Il. THE MIDDLE JURASSIC MICROFLORA STOCKHOLM 1968 Editors: Hans Tralau and Per H. Lundegårdh C. DAVIDSONS BOKTRYCKERI AB, VÄXJÖ 1968 BOTAN!CAL !NVEST!GAT!ONS IN ERIKSDAL 3 CONTENTS I. Abstract . 4 II. Preface . 5 III. Introduction . 5 IV. Systematic description of microspores found in situ . 10 V. Systematic description of dispersed microspores and pollen grains 18 VI. Presurned re-bedded specimens of microspores and pollen grains . 98 VII. Stratigraphical results . 99 VIII. Acknowledgements . 105 IX. References . 106 X. Index of genus and species names . 126 XI. Plates I to XXVI . 132 4 HANS TRALAU I. ABSTRACT Mesozoic sediments at Eriksdal in the valley of the Fyle river, SE Scania, southern Sweden have been investigated with regard to their contents of microspores and pollen grains. The microflora found confines the age of the sediments to the Bajocian and Bathonian. The first group of pollen grains and microspores, which confines the age deter mination to the Bajocian and Bathonian, is widely distributed in the Liassic but has its uppermost occurrence in different stages, preferably in the Bajocian or the Bathonian, of the Middle Jurassic in Europe. These are Concavisporites subgranu losus, Leptolepidites major, Lycopodiacidites rugulatus, Todisporites major, Cala mospora mesozoica, Trilites rariverrucatus, Eucommiidites granulosus, and Chas matosporites apertus. The seeond group comprises species which are starting their stratigraphic dist ribution in Europe in sediments belonging to the Bajocian, i. e. Sestrosporites pseudoalveolatus, Spheripollenites scabratus, and Tsugaepollenites trilobatus. The third group is that of Middle Jurrasic endemics of Europe. The species known are Neoraistrickia gristhorpensis, Gleicheniidites conspiciendus, Todisporites minor, and Leptolepidites equatibossus. Sediments of Bajocian and Bathonian age are present in Eriksdal, the stratigraphic border being situated around the two upper coal seams. BOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN ERIKSDAL s II. PREFACE The present paper is a direct continuation of previous studies of the fossil flora of Eriksdal. It aims to settie problems chiefly connected with the age of the deposits in question. However, this investigation is also a stage in the establishment of a standard pollen and spore diagram for sporomorphs, as weil as their geographic and facies distribution, in Swedish Mesozoic rocks. The samples were collected in 1961 but owing to various circumstances their investigation has been delayed. Save for the investigations in Liassic pollen grains and spores carried out by Nilsson (1958) there is no diagram of pre-Quaternary microspores and pollen grains in Sweden. It is being increasingly realized, however, that pollen grains and spores found in sedimentary deposits are of a considerable importance as age indicators. An advantage is their great abundance and ubi quity, which gives palynology a lead over several other branches of earth science regarding age determination, geographic distribution pattern as weil as facies characteristics. III. INTRODUCTION Along the NE side of the Vomb plain, SE Scania, Sweden, there is a stretch of mainly Jurassic sedimentary rocks. This stretch with an average width of l km extt:nds from Övedskloster in the NW through the valley of the Fyle river down towards Tosterup and possibly even to the Baltic Sea near Sand hammaren. The rocks are tilted and partly overturned towards the SW in con nection with the movements of the earth crust along a displacement sweep in a NW-SE direction. lmmediately NE of the displacement the bedrock consist of schistase day of Silurian age in practically harizontal layers. SW of the valley the almost equally horizontally placed marls of the Cretaceous are suspended. The layers of Jurrasic age have only outcropped at a few points The Jurassic rocks consist of sand or loose sandstone, ferriferous sandstone, often with a certain quantity of day minerals, sandy or deaner day and thin coal seams. Already before the First World War parts of the layer series had been used for local requirements, but still around 1930 only on a very moderate scale, and in such a manner that the terrain and nature still could be con- 6 HANS TRALAU sidered to have retained its original appearance. Interest in an industrial ex ploitation was awakened right from the discovery that certain sandstone layers had an iron content of up to 30-40 Ofo Fe (Hadding 1933, Palmqvist 1935). The investigations were for this reason concentrared in the older part of the tilted series in the NE, but in the younger part in the SW there was also to be found, inter alia, a white sand or loose sandstone, which proved to consist of more than 99 °/o Si02• Between the grains of sand there is an intermediate quantity of kaolin. During the Second World War the "glass sand" became of great value to the glass industry because of the obstruction in import of raw materials. Likewise the kaolin was used in the production of fine paper. It is now above all this sand, which constitutes the raw material for the production of AB Fyleverken. Some varities of day also proved to be of industrial value. The coal seams on the other hand turned out to be of limited value as fuel. The raised coal-bearing sites of the Röddinge district in sontheastern Scania have been known from the literature since the middle of the 19th century, when Angelin (1859 and 1877) published his geological Scania. The first fossil plants of the region were found by Narhorst in the valley of the river Nybroån near Kurremölla. He published his finds in 1880. Later Moberg in 1882 and 1888 mentioned a richer collection of fossil plants made by himself at Kurremölla and moreover made it clear that even the ferruginous sandstone at Rödalsberg, NW of Tosterup, contains plant fossils. Only a few years later Moberg (1893) mentioned the poorly preserved remains, which have been described as the Munka Tågarp Flora by Möller and Halle (1913). This flora is assumed to be Rhaetic in age, and because of the composition of its plant species should be referred to the upper part of this formation, according to the point of view heJd by Möller and H alle (1913, p. 11). The Munka Tågarp Flora is represenred by three species, one of which is doubtful. The following, younger flora of Rödalsberg, still out side the immediate neighbourhood of Eriksdal, from rustcoloured, fairly fine grained sandstone, is likewise, according to Möller and Halle (1913, p. 19), Rhaetic or Liassic in age, being perhaps somewhat in favour of the Rhaetic. This flora contains nine species, five of which are pf questionable affinity. The following tremenclous sequence of ferriferous, partly oolithic, sands and Sandstones is characterized by a Cardium-bed, containing a rich fauna, which was dated by Moberg (1888, p. 80) as belonging to the lower part of the Middle Liassic (Lias y). The nearest following fossiliferous site is within the region of the gravel pit of AB Fyleverken at Eriksdal. lt concerns plant fossils collected by G. Ek ström in 1918-19 in the area around layers 117 to 122. This site yielded the following species according to Nilsson (1941, p. 5): Coniopteris hymeno- BOTANICAL INVEST!GAT!ONS IN ERIKSDAL 7 5(} 100 150 200m Fig. l : Grave! pit of AB Fyleverken in Eriksdal, Scania, showing the exposure of mainly Middle Jurassic sediments (dotted area) after removal of the Quaternary cover in 1966. Published with kind permission of Rikets allmänna kartverk, Oct. 5th, 1966. phylloides (Brongniart) Seward, Cladophlebis (Eboracia) lobifolia (Phillips) Thomas, Otozamites bunburyanus Zingo and Hausmannia sp. The fossils have been gained chiefly from the day strata of this part of the gravel pit. Some five meters upwards, between layers 97 to about 113, there again occur deposits containing plant fossils, which might reasonably be considered identical with those layers, from which Möller and Halle (1913, 9. 21 ff) 8 HANS TRALAU described the so-called Kurremölla Flora. This flora, according to Möller and Halle (1913, p. 40), consists of the following species: Equisetites Mobergii Möll., Sphenopteris sp. (cf Dicksonia pauciloba Möll.), Cladophlebis sp. (cf Cl. lobifolia Brongn.), Clathropteris? or Dictyophyllum? sp., Laccopteris sp. l and 2 (?), Sagenopteris cf Mantelli (Dunker) Schenk, Ctenis sp., Nilssonia fallax Nath., N. sp., Desmiophyllum sp., Elatides cf curvifolia (Dunker) Nar horst, Elatocladus sp., Masculostrobus sp. 1-3, Carpolithus sp. l and 2. Ac cording to Nilsson (1941, p. 6) Ekström's collection from this horizon more over contains Nilssonia schaumburgensis Dunker f. fallax (Nathorst) sensu 1 Nilsson ) and fragments of Dictyophyllum or Hausmannia. The following fossiliferous sites containing plant rnaerafossils are situated samewhere between layers 96 and about 40, i. e. within about 75 m deposits. Plant macrofossils have been gained during tunnel excavations undertaken by the mining company Höganäsbolaget in 1938 and 1940-41 and have been determined by Nilsson (1941). Regretably it is completely impossible to re place the specimens into their original position within the series, as there are several very similar sedimentation strata within the series in question. Nils son's only information (1941, p . 9) is that the fossils originated from the "inner part of the tunnel". The species recorded are: Equisetites nov. spec., Marattiopsis spec., "Nathorstia" (Laccopteris?) spec., Coniopteris hymeno phylloides (Brongniart) Seward, Coniopteris fatungensis Sze, Hausmannia spec., Clathropteris or Dictyophyllum, Sphenopteris (Ruffordia) goepperti Dunker, Ctenis spec., Nilssonia spec. 1-3, Sagenopteris spec., Ginkgoites spec., Podozamites spec., and Carpolithus spec. 1-3. The uppermost coal seam (layer 37) is partly covered by dark day, which rendered considerable quan tities of plant macrofossils.